What Do They Want?
by Serene Grace
Summary: Team 7 was on a normal D-rank when the weirdest thing happened: A fox and a hawk come up to them claiming that they're the guardians of Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. Now, they're stuck to the boys like glue. But there's more to it than everyone thought. The animals are hiding something, something big. Exactly who are these animals and What Do They Want? Pre-Shippūden
1. Chapter 1: Who No, What Are You!

S/N: _I know, I know. You're sick of all the new stories while I still haven't finished any of my other ones, I KNOW! But I just couldn't leave this one alone! Don't blame me if I keep getting chased by the plot bunnies! Anyways, this story was inspired by...actually, it wasn't inspired by anything! 0.o Oh, well. Enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Masashi Kishimoto(or as I like to call him 'The Best Troll Ever') owns everything! I only own the plot! PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!**

Chapter 1: Who- No, What Are You?!

They say that 7 is a lucky number. Well, usually it's a lucky number. Other times, it can cause utter chaos! And no, I'm not exaggerating it. Anyways, other times, it can cause utter chaos! Like this for example. Team 7. Yep, they're chaotic all right. And what are they doing now, you ask? Well, they are being their usual selves while coming back from a D-rank mission. As in, Naruto and Sasuke are bickering about...something (probably related to Naruto's ramen fetish), Sakura is trying to get them to stop arguing (trying as in, rooting "her Sasuke-kun" on and threatening to hit Naruto), and Kakashi is somewhere, off on the side, reading his so-called "literature" (*****cough cough***** porn *****cough cough*****). Yep, their usual selves. In this D-rank, they had to catch the demonic cat of the Daimyō's wife. Oh, joy.

"No, it's _your_ fault that we spent almost our whole day trying to catch that damn cat!" Naruto snarled.

"Hn. Says the guy who got beaten up by something that's 4 feet shorter than him," Sasuke retorted arrogantly.

This only helped to enrage Naruto more. "Grrrr! WHY YOU-!"

***SLAM***

And that was Sakura, hitting Naruto on the head to reprimand him, as usual.

"Don't speak to Sasuke-kun like that!" And as in "reprimand", I mean hit him for picking a fight with "her Sasuke-kun". Geez.

"B-but Sakura-chan! He started it!"

"Do you _want_ me to hit you again!"

Naruto eeped. "No!"

Kakashi, who was torn in between watching the entire scene and read his book. He sighed. "They're never gonna stop, are they?" he asked himself. The fighting dragged on for a while until Kakashi decided that enough was enough. "Alright guys, let's get back to the Hokage Tower, we need to report this mission in and maybe get a new one," he said, getting a simultaneous group groan in response. _Hmm,_ Kakashi thought. _So they _can_ work together after all._ "Naruto, do you have the cat?" he asked with an amused eye-smile.

"Unfortunately, yes!" he exclaims, holding the demonic feline at arms length. Said cat was flailing around in the blond's arms.

"Alright, let's go then," Kakashi said.

Soon, they reached the Hokage Tower, with Naruto and Sasuke bickering and the cat trying to kill Naruto. Well, the cat tries to kill _everyone_, but Naruto was the closest, so...yeah.

When they were inside, they found, as usual, the Sandaime and a couple of Jōnin and Chūnin at the front. Their client was waiting there as well. But what surprised them was who- or better yet, _what_ was sitting in the front. In the front was a medium-sized fox and a raven-colored hawk of the same size.

"Uh... Sandaime-sama?" Kakashi asked uncertainly.

"Yes, Kakashi?" Sandaime answered.

"What are they?" He pointed to the 2 unmoving animals up front. Said animals seem to be having a stare-off with Ibiki, who had the hawk's gaze, and Anko, who glared at the fox. The jōnin next to the proctors nudged them, breaking the stare-off. Ibiki and Anko glared at the people who nudged them, then returned to staring at the animals, who were looking in the Sandaime's direction with slight smirks on their lips/beak.

"I'll tell you in a little while. Just hand over the cat to the client and I'll explain when she leaves."

Naruto handed the cat, who was yowling quite much, to the client. She handed the Sandaime the money for the mission and scurried off without a word. The office was filled with an awkward silence until Naruto (of course) decided to break it.

"Hey, old man!" he shouted, breaking said silence very effectively. "Are you gonna tell us about those animals or what?!"

The Sandaime stayed silent for a while, like he was contemplating something, then said, "Very well. But I must tell you that these animals that are before your eyes seem to refuse to explain to us why they are here until your Team 7 was present. So now I assume you are going to explain this to us now?" Sandaime looked at the animals, who now are turning their attention to the Hokage.

"Sandaime Hokage," the hawk said. Everyone noted the lack of the honorific. "The reason we are here is because we have some serious business with 2 certain shinobi in Team 7."

"Well, who is it? I'll send out the other 2 that aren't needed," Kakashi said.

"No, there's no need for that, Kakashi," the fox said. Kakashi recoiled, now wondering how the animal knew his name. "The 2 people we need to confront are, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto."

"Huh, what?" Naruto wondered aloud. While Sasuke was silent on the outside, he visibly tensed at the mention of his name.

"Let us explain," the hawk said. "A while ago, we were given the task of protecting 2 very important people, the people being Naruto and Sasuke. Neither of us will state why they are important or what they're important for."

"What we _can_ tell you," the fox continued, "is that this mission was- _is_ ranked as above S-rank. The specifics of the mission is that we must protect these 2 with our lives. We will continue protecting these 2 until the threat is gone. And no, we will not tell you who is the threat."

The Sandaime's eyes narrowed. "What makes me think that this is real and not a hoax?" he questioned. The fox then got a scroll out from a hidden seal. Well, at least that's what it looked like.

"This," he said. The Sandaime eyed curiously, then opened it up. He gasped. "Th-this is-"

"Yes, that is all the signatures of every Kage to ever exist," the hawk said, shocking everyone in the room.

"Not every _Ho_kage, every _Kage_. That means every Hokage, Kazekage, Mizukage, Raikage, and Tsuchikage to ever exist," the fox added.

They were right. The scroll was a mission scroll that had the ranking "above S-rank" and had all the Kage's signatures. But what was strange was that below the missions details, which had only been a tiny paragraph, was a long list of unreadable handwriting. The Sandaime thought it would be best not to question it at the moment. The Sandaime looked incredulously at the animals.

"Now are you convinced?" the fox said with a smirk.

"Well, since this is a genuine mission scroll with all the past Kage's signatures, I guess there's nothing I can do to stop you. You may go now," the Sandaime said, needing some time to think about what the hell just happened.

* * *

Well, unluckily for Team 7, the Sandaime stopped them from leaving the Hokage office at the last moment to give them a few more D-ranks to do. And by a few, I mean a lot. Right now, they're walking back to the village from the, what? 27th? 37th? Eh, I lost count. The fox and hawk that were supposed to be protecting Naruto and Sasuke were now, sleeping. Yes, sleeping. The fox reduced itself to a small size with a type of jutsu, and got on Naruto's shoulders and wrapped himself around Naruto's neck like a scarf. The hawk, who was minimized to about the fox's size, was sitting on Sasuke's head, napping away peacefully.

"Uh... hey, wake up," Naruto said to the napping fox.

"What is it?" the fox asked, opening one of it's eyes.

"Well, what kind of fox are you? I've never seen your species of fox before."

"Yeah, you get up too, I wanna know exactly what you are," Sasuke added, nudging the bird.

Said bird sighed in annoyance. "Fine," it grunted.

The fox and the hawk both enlarged, now about the size they originally were in the Hokage's office. The fox now walked leisurely alongside Team 7 with the hawk perching on it's back.

Now that everyone saw them up close, and weren't to awestruck to react properly, they could see the actual physical appearance of the 2 animals. The fox's fur was a light yellowish-orange color with a tint of ruby red in it, particularly at the stomach and paws and end of it's tail. If you look closely, you could see that a darker tinge of fur, mostly a dark red mixed in with sparkly gold, was running along the edges of the animal's body, in thick lines. Like, down it's arms, down it's legs, right in the middle of it's tail, along it's back and on it's shoulders. (S/N: _Just think of the lines along the body of Kurama when Naruto's in Bijū Mode._) Also, instead of regular whiskers, it has 6 dark red lines along it's cheeks. On it's stomach and shoulders, were swirl patterns in bright sparkly gold, overlapping the tinted red fur. It's eyes were the most interesting part though. Instead of regular foxy, slitted eyes, it's eyes were a dark, deep, color that looked like a mix of azure blue and midnight blue. The eyes were almost human.

The hawk was also a sight to see. The hawk's raven feathers had a hint of blue, black, and the tiniest hint of red when seen in the right light. Although, the insides of it's wings (which were open for it to show off) were incredible. The top row of feathers had a line of blood-red, crimson feathers, and under that row was a similar one, only the color was navy blue. Then came the pearly white feathers, and the obsidian black. It's tail feathers were in a...pattern of sorts. For example, the pattern of colors came in like, three of the blood-red, crimson feathers, then three navy blue, then three pearly white, then three obsidian. And so on and so forth. It's eyes were just as amazing and mysterious as the fox's. The eyes were a deep, obsidian color. And just for a moment, if you look at it at the perfect angle, you can see it. In a sort of glassy, reflective image. Three bright red intersecting ellipses with a straightened pinwheel in the middle with a black background. (S/N: _Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan pattern._) The image disappeared as quickly as it appeared. It's beak, like many other features of his body, had a slight tinge of blood-red along with the initial midnight blue color.

"Wow," Sakura says after a few moments of shocked silence.

"What kind of species are you guys?" Kakashi asks, eying the hawk's eyes curiously.

"Well," the fox said. "I am a special hybrid that's a combination of 3 animals: A fox, a cheetah, and a tiger. Obviously, I have much more fox genes than cheetah and tiger genes. While, that guy over here," he pointed his tail to the hawk, "is a hybrid mix of a hawk, a raven, and a crow. He mostly has the genes of a hawk, obviously, but gets most of his obsidian black feathers from crow and raven genes. Don't ask where he got the crimson red, pearly white, and navy blue. I have no idea and I'm certain that he's not very willing to answer."

"Says the fox who has actual gold fur in patterns of swirls all over his freaking body!" the hawk retorted.

"Wait, this is real gold?" Sakura asked, getting up close to the fox. "Wow, it _is_ real gold!"

"Awesome!" Naruto shouted, fist pumping in the air. "What can _yours_ do, teme?"

"Hn. I don't need to show off to the likes of _you_," he answered smugly.

"Why you-!"

***SMACK***

"OW! What the hell was that for?!" Naruto glared at the fox, who was the one that smacked him with his tail. Bet you thought that Sakura hit him, didn't you?

"To shut you up so there won't be a fight that nobody will enjoy. Now shut up, we were talking," the fox said, earning him another glare.

"Hn. Serves you right, dobe-"

***SMACK***

Now, feathers with the colors of, obsidian black, crimson red, pearly white, and navy blue were flying all around, but mainly around Sasuke's head. The Uchiha rubbed his sore scalp and glared the infamous Uchiha Death Glare™.

"You heard the fox with abnormal golden fur. Shut up, we're talking," the hawk said.

"Oh, _I'm_ the one with abnormal fur, huh? Are you forgetting the fact that whenever you ruffle your red feathers, actual rubies fall out?! How is that even possible, anyways?!"

"How am _I_ supposed to know?! It's not my fault! Well, whatever. I'm going hunting."

"By the way, can you get me some dinner, too?"

"Hell no! After what you said, there's no way I'm gonna get your food like some kind of servant! Get it yourself, why don't you?!"

With that, the hawk stormed off, with the fox not so far behind, shouting things like, "Wait, you bastard! Don't you remember that you still owe me?!".

Then, Naruto suddenly remembered something. "Hey, wait!" he shouted.

The animals stopped. "What?" the fox shouted back.

"We didn't even get to learn about your names!"

The fox smirked and shouted, "Just call me...Kurama."

"And call me, Susanoo."

And with that, Kurama and Susanoo left to who knows where.

* * *

**Many Hours Later...**

"Hey!" Kurama shouted. He was now waiting impatiently by a small river. "Where the hell are you, Susanoo?!"

"I'm here," Susanoo replied calmly, perching on a rock next to said river. "Now, what do you want? I already got you your dinner with that little promise..." He leaned in, emphasizing "little promise".

"Exactly. Here." Kurama threw a bright red tomato in Susanoo's direction. Susanoo's eyes twinkled in delight and he flew up, catching the fruit in midair. And yes, in case you didn't know, the tomato _is_ a fruit.

Susanoo perched on a different, larger rock and started to eat his favorite food. "Aah," he sighed. "Tomatoes are amazing, even when I'm in this form."

"Whatever. Ramen's much more better though," replied Kurama, walking over to the river for a drink.

"What's with you and your obsession with ramen? Why do you love it so much?"

"The same reason that _your_ obsessed with tomatoes. By the way, you have something here." He pointed to his snout, showing where the hawk had tomato all over his beak. Susanoo licked away the tomato.

"Whatever. So how long are we gonna keep this act up?"

"Until we find out who made us this way, how we were made this way, and how we're gonna get back. And hopefully that will be soon, cause we can't stay here for long. Eventually they'll find out."

"Yeah... How do you think the others are taking it?"

"Not well. You know how they are. They care to much about us to not react like there's an apocalypse about."

Susanoo chuckled. "I wonder if they'll come here as well. Wouldn't that be interesting."

Kurama chuckled as well. "Tell me 'bout it. Anyways, let's go. The sun's up and Naruto and Sasuke will probably wake up soon."

"Right. Later."

"See ya!"

They walked/flew off in different directions, each of them heading in their respective locations. And only one thing went through each of their minds. _This is only the beginning..._

End

S/N: _Well, that's not much of a cliffhanger ending! But still, who do you think the animals are? Because they're not who you think. Or are they? You'll never know! *Insert evil laughter* Ahem, anyways, thanks for reading!_

_DON'T FORGET ZE REVIEWZZZZ!_

_Ta-ta~_

_-Serena_


	2. Chapter 2: Just Another Normal Day

S/N: _Welcome to the 2__nd__ chapter of "What Do They Want?". Please sit down, make yourselves comfortable, and turn off all electronic devices (even though you're reading this on a computer...). Snacks will be available, probably in your (and everyone else's) kitchen(s). Enjoy the show!_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Masashi Kishimoto(or as I like to call him 'The Best Troll Ever') owns everything! I only own the plot! PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!**

Chapter 2: Just Another Normal Day

Right now, in dreamland, Naruto was dreaming of, you guessed it, ramen. Lots and lots and lots of ramen! Anyways, now Kurama has been given the task of waking up the Uzumaki. He sighed tiredly. Great. Just another problem the poor guy had to deal with.

"Hey, wake up." As expected, his tries were pointless on the snoring mass before him.

"**HEY!**" Okay, now that worked well. A bit to well in fact. How? Well the blond ninja was currently part of the ceiling. Yep. You heard me right.

"Ow!" Naruto said when he descended from his flight. "What was that for?!"

"You're almost late for your team meeting," Kurama replied in a neutral tone of voice.

Naruto looked at his clock and shouted, "Oh, shit!" He ran into the bathroom and then came back fully dressed, although he was a complete mess.

"Oh no! I'm late!" he shouted in a panic.

"Don't worry, I'll get you there. Just hop on my back," Kurama said, standing up.

"Huh?!" Naruto said incredulously.

"C'mon. Trust me." Kurama smiled a smile that was as bright as a flash of bright, golden light. "Get on. I'll carry you there."

"Okay..." Naruto said unsurely, getting on the fox's back.

Then, Kurama jumped out of the apartment with Naruto on his back, who was by the way a little dazed, and ran to the training grounds at the speed of light. People who witnessed the feat swore they saw a yellow flash come by...

* * *

**At The Uchiha Manor...**

"Hey, wake up." Right now, Susanoo was trying to wake up his own little accomplice.

"Mmm... Go away... Tryin' to sleep..." the little Uchiha mumbled.

_Geez, I don't remember him being _that_ sleepy,_ Susanoo thought. _Looks like desperate times call for desperate measures..._

***SPLASH***

Sasuke shot up, sputtering water, and glared at the bird in sight, who was holding an empty bucket in his beak with a smug smirk plastered on his face.

"What the hell was that for?!" Sasuke shouted, shaking his wet hair in an attempt to get it dry.

"To wake you up. Now get up, or you'll be late," Susanoo replied, getting a glare in return. After Sasuke got dressed and dried off (mostly), Susanoo was hovering above the doorway.

"You're still a little wet you know," he said.

"Yeah, well that's thanks to _somebody_ who decided to wake me up in one of the worst ways possible!" Sasuke snapped, making Susanoo chuckle.

"That's not the worst way to wake up. There are much more horrible ways to wake up. I would explain them to you, but I doubt you'd be eager to listen."

"Hn."

Susanoo chuckled again and smiled warmly in a way that sort of reminded Sasuke of Ita- no. What was he doing, thinking of _him_ like that? Living with Susanoo at his side wasn't gonna be much more pleasant if he reminded Sasuke of _him_.

Anyways, the 2 of them left the tiny apartment, with Susanoo perching on top of Sasuke's head, who was walking leisurely to the training grounds.

"Can you go any slower?" Susanoo complained.

"Well, if you're so annoyed by my speed of walking, then why don't you carry me to the training grounds?" Sasuke snapped.

"I _would_, but I think that that would be an unpleasant experience for both of us, wouldn't you agree?"

Sasuke scowled, thinking of what would happen if that were to happen, and he had to admit that Susanoo was right. It _would_ be a very unpleasant experience for the both of them, even though Susanoo looked a little eager to do so.

"Yeah, guess you're right..."

"Great, now hurry up. I've seen snails with better pace than you." Sasuke glared at Susanoo. "Glare at me all you want, it's not gonna make me shut up."

_He's just like how I remember..._ Susanoo thought with a nostalgic smile. He looked around the village. _So this is the village I wanted so badly to protect. Well, I guess it's time to take a more direct approach..._

* * *

**At The Training Grounds...**

Sasuke, Sakura, and Susanoo (who was on Sasuke's head) was waiting at the 3 tree stumps that Team 7 first became ninja. Soon after, Naruto arrived riding on Kurama's back.

"Hah! Think you're so cool now, teme? What can _your_ animal do?!" Naruto shouted arrogantly.

"Hn. Stop trying to act cool, dobe. Because if you are, it's not working," Sasuke retorted.

"Why you-!"

"Stop arguing you 2," Kurama says. "Teammates shouldn't fight like this. You know what I say, the most important thing for a shinobi is teamwork!"

Everyone calmed down after that, though Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other silently. After about 15 minutes, Naruto said, "Damn... That Kakashi-sensei is late again!"

"Well, what do you expect, dobe? He's always late like this," replied Sasuke.

"Well, why don't you train?" Kurama suggested, gaining the attention of all the genin.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Well, since you guys have all this time, then why not train? Maybe Kakashi's just being late so you can have some time to train."

"Hmm... I've never thought of it like that. I always thought he was just lazy," Sakura admitted.

"Well, I guess you were wrong then."

"Alright! Let's go train!" Naruto shouted excitedly.

"I'm going to train alone," Sasuke said, starting to leave.

"Why don't you train with the others?" Susanoo asked.

"...I only work alone."

"Well, if you only work alone, then you'll get no where."

Sasuke stopped. "...What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that if you work only alone, then you probably won't achieve your dreams. You really expect to get stronger without at least _some_ type of help?"

Sasuke paused for a moment. "Are you calling me _weak_?" Sasuke sounded as intimidating as an Uchiha can get.

"Yes, I _am_ calling you weak. Weak if you're all alone!" Susanoo spoke without difficulty and with a lot of confidence, as if unfazed by the young Uchiha's dark aura.

"Well, what am I supposed to do about my being '_weak_'?"

"Train. With your team. So you won't be entirely alone."

Sasuke turned around and glared the sharpest Uchiha glare he could muster. Susanoo glared as well, only much more scarier and intimidating, discouraging the young Uchiha greatly.

"...Fine. I'll go train with them. Something's better than nothing, I guess," he grumbled, walking back angrily. Susanoo smirked in victory, and flew by Sasuke's side to the others.

They all trained together for a while until Kakashi finally arrived.

"You're all training, huh? Looks like my message finally got through to you," he said.

"Actually," Kurama stated, walking over to the copy-nin, "we had to tell them straight-up about why you were always late. They could never find it out themselves!" Team 7 glared at the fox.

"Of course. What was I thinking that you all would find out the true purpose of my being late?" The Team 7 group glare was now directed at Kakashi.

"And I had to convince Sasuke to not train by himself so he can actually progress in his development," Susanoo added, getting the Uchiha part of the group glare now.

_Kakashi... You're just like how I remember..._ Kurama thought with a nostalgic smile. _Those were the times, huh Kakashi?_

Susanoo, however, had a stern, contemplating look on his face. _Hatake Kakashi..._ he thought. _If memory serves me right, then he used to be an ANBU. Though, it must have taken a miracle to convince him to accept. He definitely doesn't seem like the type of person to be an ANBU._

"Alright, let's go to the Hokage Tower for our mission today," Kakashi said, standing up from his kneeling position.

_Great, more D-ranks..._ all the genin in Team 7 thought.

* * *

**Many, Many, Many Useless D-ranks Later...**

As the caption up there says, after many, many, many useless D-ranks, Team 7 and Kurama and Susanoo were in the Hokage's office, and they all were very irritated. Well, except the 2 animals and Kakashi, with Kakashi expecting this and the animals having the patience of a saint.

"Alright," the Sandaime said. "Now that your done with that mission, I have 3 others waiting for you. Would you rather walking some dogs, babysitting a foreign dignitary's 6-month-old son, or how about-"

"NO. NO. NO. NO. NO!" Naruto screamed, putting his arms in a big "X" for emphasis of his lack of enthusiasm. "I don't wanna do useless D-ranks! I want a real mission!"

Everyone sweatdropped at the blond.

_As much as I'd like to disagree,_ Sasuke thought, _the dobe's right. These useless D-ranks will do nothing to get me stronger._

_Such an idiot!_ Sakura thought. _It amazes me how in the world that someone like _him_ could become a ninja!_

Kurama, Susanoo and Kakashi just sighed dejectedly. _They'll never stop, will they?_ They all thought.

"Naruto!" Iruka shouted angrily at the blond. He was supposed to help out the Sandaime with the missions. "New ninja like you three have to work their way up if they want better missions! Just like all the others!"

"Naruto, I'm afraid I can't do that," the Sandaime said. "You three are only genin. If you want a better mission, then you'll just have to get stronger."

"I'm strong enough! I can take on whatever you throw at me!" Naruto yells.

"Just give them the mission," Kurama says, surprising everyone except Susanoo. "Eventually they'll have to move up the scale, and no time's better than the present."

"As I said before, I cannot do that-"

"He's right," interrupted Susanoo. "They've been on more than enough D-ranks for them to earn at least a C-rank. Besides, if they get hurt, Kurama, Kakashi and I will be there to protect them."

The Sandaime stayed silent for a moment before chuckling softly. "Alright," he said. "I guess I could give you a C-rank."

Naruto yelled out happily. "What's the mission?! What's the mission?!" he asked.

"Hold on," the Sandaime said. "Tazuna?"

Just then, an old man with a bottle in his hands stumbled in. he drank some sake out of the bottle and wiped his mouth before looking at Team 7 and the animals. "Aw, man. I'm gonna have a bunch of little brats and 2 dirty animals as my bodyguards? And what's with the short one with a stupid smile?" he says.

"Haha! So who's the short one with a stupid smile?" Naruto laughs. Sasuke and Sakura draw closer to him, to realize that Tazuna was talking about him. His eye twitched and he tried to jump on the drunk before Kakashi held him back.

"I'm gonna kill him!" Naruto shouts over and over and over...

"You're supposed to protect the client, not kill him, Naruto. It doesn't work like that," Kakashi says.

"Well, this will be one heck of a mission," Kurama says, amused.

"Geez..." Susanoo says, holding his head in his wings like he's facepalming.

Oh, Kurama, how right you are and it being one heck of a mission...

End

S/N: _I know, I know, this was a bit anticlimactic, I get it! I wanted to add in more, but before I knew it, I had 6 pages done! Anyways, yes it _will_ be in fact, the Land of Waves mission with Zabuza and Haku and everything._

_DON'T FORGET ZE REVIEWZZZZ!_

_Ta-ta~_

_-Serena_


	3. Chapter 3: On the Hunt

S/N: _New chapter of "What Do They Want?"! Honestly, I never expected this story to be so popular! I guess because the idea is pretty unique, but this story is my most popular one. Please check out my other stories if you can! (Except "Last Chance". Even I, the writer, think it's shit! Just don't read that one, please.) Enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Masashi Kishimoto(or as I like to call him 'The Best Troll Ever') owns everything! I only own the plot! PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!**

Chapter 3: On the Hunt

"Sealing scrolls."

"Check."

"Shuriken."

"Check."

"Kunai."

"Che- wait, what _kind_ of kunai?"

"You know what kind of kunai."

"No, I don't. Now tell me."

"Ugh. _My_ kind of kunai!"

"Well then, not check."

"What?! How can you lose a bunch of kunai?!"

"You tell me! It's _yours_ and from what I can see, it's not here!"

Naruto and Sasuke were confused. Confused about what, you ask? Well, let's start form the beginning...

It was the day of the mission to escort Tazuna, a bridge builder from the Land of Waves. Everyone (well, every genin) was excited about finally having a real mission. Naruto was Naruto, so he was just plain excited, only in a more extreme way. Sakura was excited too, only she was more civil and hid it more than the hyperactive blond. Sasuke was about as excited as an Uchiha can get. Meaning, he had on a straight face with the faint traces of a smirk. These kind of missions were nothing new for Kakashi, so he did what he always did; read his precious porn. The animals were neutral about this. They were overly calm, almost as if they were expecting the mission to happen.

Right now, all of Team 7 and the animals were getting ready for the mission. All the genin and Kakashi were ready, it was the animals that were taking up time. They were arguing about the placement of some sort of special kunai of the fox's. It was said to have 3 blades, the middle blade being the largest, with a sheet of paper covering the handle. Honestly, Team 7 could care less about the stupid kunai. All they wanted was to get on with the mission, well the genin did, Kakashi just wanted to read his porn in peace. Now, they were impatiently witnessing a fight between animals.

"Where the fuck is my kunai?!" yelled Kurama, looking like it wanted to eat Susanoo's face.

"How the hell should I know! It's your property! Don't blame me for your lost shit!" Susanoo snapped, looking like it also wanted to eat Kurama's face.

"What are you guys arguing about?" Naruto asked, getting the attention of the animals.

Kurama looked at Naruto and then glared back at the bird. "This guy lost my signature kunai. The one I need for my special jutsu," he said.

"Well, why don't you just get new, regular kunai?" Sasuke asked.

"Because that kunai is not just some regular old, worthless piece of metal. It is specially made and combined with my chakra signature and a sealing formula I created. It is the kunai I need to perform a very advanced and complicated jutsu that none of you here could even imagine to do. It is much more than what you think, little Uchiha!" Kurama snapped, getting in the raven's face.

"_Little Uchiha_?" Sasuke repeated dangerously, though he was a bit intimidated by the fox.

"Just leave him alone, Kurama. Just use one of your storage seals. I'm sure you have some spare ones in there," Susanoo said before a fight could break out.

"Fine," the fox said, walking over to one of scrolls and undoing the seal, revealing a whole pack of special kunai, which Kurama quickly put in his weapons pouch before anyone could see the kunai up close.

"Let's go," Kurama said, standing up.

As they all left for the gate, where they were supposed to meet Tazuna, Kakashi swore that he saw Kurama's kunai once before...

* * *

**At the Gate...**

After the whole kunai incident, Team 7 finally got to the gate with Tazuna. Naruto was in the front, walking happily and excited for going on a real mission, Sasuke in the middle, looking as passive as ever, Sakura trailing right behind her crush, and Kakashi and Tazuna in the back.

"Off we go!" Naruto yelled happily.

"What are you so happy about, Naruto?" Sakura asked with a superior tone in her voice.

Naruto ignored her superiority and answered, "This is the first time I've ever let to village! I'm finally a traveler, a ninja! This is awesome!"

"Is this brat supposed to be a ninja? He's a joke! You expect me to trust him to protect my life?!" Tazuna complains.

"Don't worry. He's with me and I'm a jōnin. You can trust me," Kakashi says.

Naruto's left eye twitches in annoyance. _'How dare he insult a ninja! I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!'_ he thinks. "Hey!" he screams, pointing an accusing finger at Tazuna. "Don't insult a ninja! And I just so happen to be one of the greatest ninja ever! You'll regret it when I become Hokage!"

"You? Hokage?" Tazuna scoffs. "Please. There isn't a village desperate enough to make you their Kage."

"Grrr! Why you-!"

***SLAM***

"Shut up, you idiot!" Sakura yells at the blond, who is rubbing the spot where Sakura hit him.

"Ow! Sakura-chan! What was that for?!" Naruto whined.

Kurama sighed. "Sakura, please don't kill Naruto. Remember, my job is to protect him."

"Hmph. By the way, why are you guys protecting them?! I mean, I understand how Sasuke-kun is worth it, but why Naruto?!" Sakura asks.

"Because they have more than a few strong enemies. Much to strong for mere genin to fight against," Susanoo answered.

"Enemies?! What enemies?!" Naruto shouted, panicking. Sasuke didn't show it, but Kurama, Susanoo and Kakashi knew that he was curious about his "enemies".

"Well, we can't go into the specifics, but what I _can_ tell you is that the reason for your enemies mainly revolves around your heritage. Sasuke being the last Uchiha, and Naruto's father having a long history," Kurama said, sharing a knowing look with Susanoo, which wasn't caught by Tazuna or the genin, but was noticed by Kakashi, who is now suspicious.

"Huh?! You knew my dad?!" Naruto said, getting in Kurama's face, who sweatdropped.

"Yes, but I can't tell you who he is."

"Why not?!"

"Because if I tell you here, out in the open, then someone might hear, and the word will spread. Then you'll be in danger of being attacked by one of your father's enemies. And my job is hard enough as it is."

"Okay. I understand..." Naruto slumps, sad that he didn't get to know about his heritage.

"But wait," Kakashi said, still suspicious. "How do you know that? Was Naruto's father the one that assigned you the mission?"

"No," Susanoo said. "The one who assigned us this mission, who's identity we intend to keep a secret by the way, just told us everything we needed to know. That's all. You don't need to be suspicious."

Kakashi's visible eye widened, but then narrowed in assessment. _'Hm... So if the one that assigned you the mission knew about Naruto's true heritage, then they either must be one of Minato-sensei's accomplices, or is a plain genius.'_ Kakashi thought.

"Well, whoever Naruto's father is, he can't be _that_ great considering how much of an idiot his son is!" Sakura says.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto says in defense, but slumps down in depression.

"On the contrary, Sakura. Naruto's father was actually very well respected and even feared by shinobi everywhere. I would say more, but I 'm not stupid enough to give away _that_ much information!" Kurama says with a knowing, mischievous, foxy grin.

The rest of Team 7 talked to the animals the rest of the way, trying to get more information out of them, but didn't get very far. But meanwhile, somewhere in a dark cave...

* * *

**In Some Random Dark Cave...**

"Codename: Nine! Reporting in!" one voice said. It was dark ad slightly malicious, but was powerful and prideful, with a bit of human in it.

"You don't have to use the codenames, you know," another male voice said. The voice was sarcastic and mocking, but had just a bit of insanity. Like the previous voice, it had just a bit of a human characteristic to it.

"Just use the codenames. It will make him happy. Besides, someone could hear us from outside this cave," another male voice said. It was a quiet, calm voice that was very polite and reserved. It also had a bit of human in it.

"Ugh, fine. Codename: One. Reporting in," the 2nd voice said with a tired tone in his voice.

"Codename: Two. Reporting in," another voice said. It was a quiet and polite voice, yet it was feminine, unlike the other one. It was also a bit shy, with a bit of human in it.

"Codename: Three. Reporting in," another quiet, male voice said. It was shy and polite, but also had a bit of contradicting force in it, if you look deep enough.

"Codename: Four! Reporting in!" a much louder voice that was arrogant and boastful roared. It was very prideful and loud, making sound like it wanted to boast put whatever quality it had.

"Codename: Five. Reporting in," the voice that gave the advice for following Nine said. It was very polite and reserved.

"Codename: Six. Reporting in," a boastful, yet controlled male voice spoke. Unlike Four, it was much more controlled and had a superior tone in it.

"Codename: Seven! Reporting in!" a female, happy and bubbly voice spoke. It seemed to have a very happy-go-lucky personality, unlike the other ones.

"Codename: Eight. Reporting in," a male, serious, controlling voice spoke. It was very serious and to-the-point.

"Codename: Nine! Reporting in!" the first voice spoke.

"Nine, you already said that," One said.

"Oh, shut up, One! Stop acting like you're the boss around here, but really, you're not! You're the weakest one of us all!"

"Oh, _I'm_ the weakest?! Well, what about that time when we were sparring, and I defeated you by a simple leg sweep?"

"That didn't count! I was caught off guard!"

"SHUT UP!" Eight said, irritated. "Stop arguing you 2! We need to think of a plan to get those 2 back to their homes!"

"Eight is right," said Two. "What are we gonna do about them?"

"How about we just go up to them, and perform to jutsu to bring them back?" Seven suggested, getting looks from the others. "What?"

"Seven," Six said, "you can't just go up to them like that. Remember, they're still with those genin?"

"Aw! But I wanted to meet that genin team! They're so small and cute!" Seven pouted.

"We'll think of a plan, I know we will. We just have to be patient..." Two said.

The rest of the day at the cave consisted of arguing, planning, and a _lot_ of Seven's childish and nonsensical suggestions. Wonder what they're planning...

* * *

**Up High, Somewhere in the Trees...**

"Are you ready?" one voice said. This one was human.

"Yes," another voice said. The 2 people were sitting in the trees, with straw hats covering their faces and black cloaks with red clouds on them. They both had kunai in their hands.

"Alright then let's go!"

They jumped from tree to tree, and stopped at one where they had perfect view of their targets. One jōnin, and old man, three genin, and two animals, a fox and a hawk. They got out their kunai, and aimed it, right at the fox and hawk's heads...

End

S/N: _CLIFFHANGER! I know, you must hate me for putting that cliffhanger in. By the way, sorry for the length of this chapter. I wanted to put in more Team 7 scenes and dialogue, but there wasn't much room... Anyways, who do you think are One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, and Nine's identities are? I think I may have given it away, though... Oh, well. Their identities won't give away the animals' identities! Wow, this is a long author's note..._

_DON'T FORGET ZE REVIEWZZZZ!_

_Ta-ta~_

_-Serena_


	4. Chapter 4: Surprise Attack

S/N: _Wow. I never expected this. In the last chapter, a lot of people guessed One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, and Nine to be the Konoha 12. But they're not. Huh. Well, at least I know I'm great at trolling and keeping secrets! :D Enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Masashi Kishimoto(or as I like to call him 'The Best Troll Ever') owns everything! I only own the plot! PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!**

Chapter 4: Surprise Attack!

They got out their kunai, and aimed it, right at the fox and hawk's heads...

Kurama and Susanoo's eyes narrowed and in seconds, they dodged the weapons aimed at their heads.

"What the hell?!" Naruto shrieked, jumping out of the way clumsily. The others followed suit, only less clumsily than the blond. The genin surrounded themselves around the bridge builder, protecting him.

"What's going on here?!" Tazuna shouted.

"Come out, now!" Kurama said, getting out his special kunai and holding it in his mouth. Susanoo spread his wings as if getting ready for flight and his eyes glowed a bloody crimson red.

"Hehehe... You were just like they said..." the mysterious voice chuckled. He came out with his partner, landing in front of the animals.

Kurama and Susanoo's killer intent doubled over once they saw what the enemies were wearing. "So which one are you working for?" Susanoo asked, confusing Team 7and Tazuna.

_'Which one?! What is he talking about?! Who are these guys?!'_ Kakashi thought. He got out a kunai and put a hand over the hitai-ate covering his right eye.

"No, Kakashi!" Kurama said, surprising the copy-nin. "We'll take care of these guys. This is our business. Get the bridge builder and genin away from here. I'm sure that things will heat up here very soon."

Kakashi hesitated a bit before complying. "Come one, let's go team," he said.

"But, Kakashi-sensei! What about all that 'abandoning you friends' crap?!" Naruto objected.

"Have faith in them, that's the only way we can help now," Kakashi said with an eye-smile. They all hesitated a bit before escaping into the woods.

"Let's dance," Kurama said with a smirk.

Kurama's one bushy tail then divided itself into 9 separate appendages, each with a sharp, silver tip similar to an arrowhead. His eyes grew feral and his fangs and claws doubled in size. His eyes glowed a bright crimson red and his fur obtained a wild look, very intimidating.

Susanoo flapped his wings, making a sound similar to clanging metal, as if his wing feathers were made out of pure metal – which, considering his appearance, could very well be true. His talons doubled in size and his beak somehow gained a sharp edge; much like a sword.

Susanoo spread his wings, and flew straight up, obscuring the sight of the sun and temporarily blinding the enemies. Kurama took this opportunity to throw a kunai at one of them. One of them recovered just in time to catch the kunai headed for his head. "Haha! Who's losing now?!" he brags. Kurama smirks and says, "You."

Suddenly, he appears right behind the guy that caught the kunai with a flash of golden light. He uses one of his tails to slash the ninja's right arm. Said ninja cried out in pain and recoiled, gripping his bleeding arm. Kurama landed, spreading all his tails out like a fan to prepare for an attack.

Susanoo did a nose dive straight down, folding his wings to his body for extra speed. Once Susanoo was about a meter away from the other ninja, he spread his wings suddenly, stopping himself and striking forward with his talons. The ninja recovered from the shock of the blindness just in time to clumsily block Susanoo's attack with a kunai. Susanoo's eyes narrowed and he rose, coming down and trying to slash the ninja with his wings.

Kurama stood his ground, narrowed his eyes, and bounded towards his opponent. He directed his chakra to his claws, increasing the piercing ability. The shinobi Kurama was facing clutched a kunai in his good hand and managed to block the claws, only to have 2 tails heading for his head. Not wanting to be shush-kabobed, said ninja was forced to retreat from his position, standing across the fox, clutching his injured arm. Kurama noticed how long the battle was taking, and said, "Susanoo!" to the hawk as a signal to end it quickly.

Susanoo caught Kurama's signal and nodded to say that he understood. He flew back from the shinobi he faced, and spread his wings, pumping chakra into the feathers. The ninja tightened his grip on his kunai, preparing for whatever attack the bird was going to launch. Susanoo flapped his wings, and sent several bladed feathers towards the ninja, all of them unavoidable, but survivable. The ninja looked up in surprise, and could only grit his teeth and hold his ground as the feathers' blades pierced his body. Susanoo took the opportunity and nose-dived down, folding his wings to his body and pumping chakra into his beak. The ninja looked up in surprise and gasped right before Susanoo's whole body went through his own, striking right where the heart was. The ninja's body dropped down, motionless as Susanoo landed on the ground and shook his feathers to rid of the blood.

Kurama crouched down and rebounded up, his claws aimed at his opponent's heart. Said ninja used his kunai to block the claws, using his other arm to get another kunai out and aim it at the fox's heart, even though said arm was injured. Kurama smirked as his 9 separate tails combined into one in seconds, and aimed the single appendage towards the right side of the ninja, his weak point. The ninja's eyes widened for a second before his heart got pierced by a long, bushy tail. Kurama retracted his tail and let the body drop down, much like Susanoo's opponent's body.

Susanoo flew to Kurama and said, "Come on, the others are waiting."

"Right," Kurama agreed. He ran towards the direction in which Team 7 and Tazuna went. Both of them knew what the attack meant. It wasn't to assassinate them, or even Naruto and Sasuke. No, it was meant as a warning. The ninja _he_ sent were to weak to send. They could sense that another attack was coming, a much stronger attack...

* * *

**At Wherever Team 7 and Tazuna Are...**

"Where are they?" Sakura asked, concerned. "They should be back by now..."

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! I'll protect you!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning.

"That's not what I mean, baka! And don't you care about Kurama and Susanoo's well being at all?!" Sakura snapped.

"Hn, they'll be fine. I doubt that they would go down so easily. Besides, it's only been 10 minutes, don't be so paranoid," Sasuke said.

"Yeah, but..." Sakura said, discouraged by Sasuke's disapproval.

Naruto noticed Sakura's discouragement and yelled at the Uchiha, "Oi, teme! Don't be so rude to Sakura-chan!"

"Don't yell at Sasuke-kun like that!" Sakura said, slamming her fist on Naruto's head.

"Ow! Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined, clutching the growing bump on his head.

Just then, Kurama and Susanoo came into the scene, noticing the argument between teammates with amusement. They turned to Kakashi, who was reading his little orange book.

"Should we stop them soon to get on with the mission, or should we just leave it cause this is actually pretty entertaining," Kurama asked Kakashi as Susanoo perched on top of his back.

"Depends on what the client wants. Tazuna?" Kakashi replied, turning to the old man, who was looking at the genin with an annoyed expression.

"Stop them. At first, I could stand it, but now, it's just plain annoying," Tazuna said, watching Naruto make a move on Sakura, Sakura refuse him, Sasuke say something, Sakura get discouraged by the Uchiha's words, Naruto insulting Sasuke for hurting "Sakura-chan", Sakura hitting Naruto for insulting "her Sasuke-kun", and repeat.

"Alright, team. The animals are back and we're wasting time. Let's go," Kakashi said.

The team eventually calm down and they all proceed to the Land of Waves.

Naruto sped to the front, looking around everywhere for some action. He narrowed his eyes and screamed, "There!" before throwing a kunai into the direction of "There!" was. Everyone (except Sasuke and the animals, of course) freaked out over Naruto overreacting.

After a few moments of silence, Naruto said, "Just a squirrel."

Sakura fumed and shouted, "YOU IDIOT! JUST A SQUIRREL?! YEAH RIGHT! STOP TRYING TO ACT COOL!"

"STOP TRYING TO SCARE ME YOU LITTLE RUNT!" Tazuna said, almost as angry as Sakura.

"Naruto, those are dangerous kunai knives! You can't be so careless with them!" Kakashi said, panicked.

"Hn. Dobe," Sasuke said smugly.

Kurama and Susanoo just sighed and facepalmed at Naruto's attempts to act cool. _'Here we go again...'_ they both thought, familiar with Naruto idiocy and Sasuke's arrogance.

Naruto, who seemed to only hear Sasuke, shouted at said raven, "What did you say?! I dare you to say it again!"

"I said, 'Hn. Dobe.' I thought that you were only stupid, not deaf, dobe," Sasuke retorted.

"WHY YOU-!"

***SLAM***

Instead of me telling you who that was, let's make it different. Who do you think that was? ….If you guessed Sakura, then you are correct! The people who guessed Sakura (which is pretty much everyone) now get to see her beat the shit out of Naruto while failing to get Sasuke's attention! Yay! (Insert unamused face.)

"BAKA! DON'T YOY DARE LAY A FINGER ON SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura screeched. I'm guessing you didn't like your prize. Well, looks like that we're on the same page, then. Sigh.

"Ow! Sakura-chan! What what that for?! Sasuke's the one who-"

***SLAM...AGAIN***

"ZIP IT!"

Kakashi, Kurama, and Susanoo just watched with a tired expression and shaking their heads. _'What have I deserved to get this...?'_ they all thought, mourning the fact that they're now stuck with the 3.

In other news, a small puddle of water that they all just passed now has a masked ninja emerging form the surface. The ninja, who has a Kirigakure hitai-ate, leered at Kakashi, and prepared for an attack...

* * *

**In a Dark Cave That You'll Be Seeing Very Much Of...**

"So, when do we go up to them?" Three asked timidly.

"Not sure...what do you guys think?" Nine asked, being the apparent self-assigned leader of the group.

"I say that we go to them now!" Seven exclaimed, being her usual perky self.

"Seven, we already talked about this. We can't go up to them _now_. Remember the genin?" Six said tiredly.

"Awww!" Seven pouted, which Six found very cute.

"Well, we're gonna have to talk to them soon. Any better ideas?" Two asked.

"How about instead of going up to them now, we go up to them during the Chūnin Exams posing as genin teams? There _are_ 9 of us, you know," Seven said, surprising everyone with her wise and sensible answer.

"That's actually a really good idea! You should listen to her, Nine. You can learn something from her," One said.

"Hmm, I'm not sure," Nine replied, ignoring One's insult but sending him a glare anyway.

"PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE?" Seven said, coming up to Nine's face.

"Okay! Okay, geez! Just please, SHUT UP!" Nine said, plugging his ears with his hand.

"YAY!" Seven said, jumping up and down in joy like a child.

"So, we all agree on going to the Chūnin Exams to meet up with them?" Nine says.

"Yes," a simultaneous answer emerges from the group, a rare thing, actually.

"Alright, so we'll meet up with them during the Chūnin Exams, posing as 3 genin teams. Great! Now all we need is to find a jutsu to send them back..."

End

S/N: _And here's the foreshadowing! Well, we all know what's gonna happen next with Team 7, the animals and Tazuna, right? Well, then let's get to the last part of the chapter. Ah, foreshadowing, how I LOVE foreshadowing. Yes, there _will_ be a Chūnin Exams. But the Exams won't go as planned for the Numbered Team. Yes, that's their name from now on. The Numbered Team. I know, it's not very good, but hey, don't expect me to stick to that name the entire story!_

_DON'T FORGET ZE REVIEWZZZZ!_

_Ta-ta~_

_-Serena_

_P.S. HOLY SHIT, that one long author's note! :P_


	5. Chapter 5: Watching Them

S/N: _Sorry this is a bit late, but you guys are okay with it right? :D Anyways,__ since I've decided that I'm gonna need a lot more results, I've put up a poll on my profile and removed the other one. Remember to vote on what you think! Also, I made the teams for the Numbered Team for when they pose as genin for the Chūnin Exams. The teams are balanced so that each team will have 2 of its members fighting all the time. :P Enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Masashi Kishimoto(or as I like to call him 'The Best Troll Ever') owns everything! I only own the plot! PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!**

Chapter 5: Watching Them

The ninja, who has a Kirigakure hitai-ate, leered at Kakashi, and prepared for an attack...

All of a sudden, 2 long chains engulfed Kakashi's entire body, surprising everyone except the animals. 2 Kirigakure ninja came out, with claw-like forearm armor that the chains were coming out of. The ninja pulled on the chain, cutting Kakashi's body into large chunks. (S/N: _Ew. XD_)

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Naruto and Sakura shouted. Tazuna was frozen solid from fear and Sasuke was looking around the area, taking out some shuriken. Kurama and Susanoo, however, watched with their eyes narrowed.

"Let's do this runt next, shall we?" one of them said, appearing behind Naruto.

"Yeah, let's do it," the other one said, also appearing behind Naruto. Naruto was unable to do anything, seeing as he was frozen from fear. He swallowed and prepared for an attack, but was surprised when he looked up and saw Sasuke standing in front of him, fighting off the Kiri shinobi.

Sasuke threw a shuriken at the chain that was going for Naruto and pinned it to a tree. He threw a kunai at the shuriken's hole to secure it. He kicked both ninja to the tree, making fall seemingly unconscious.

Suddenly, both ninja awoken and pulled on the chain connecting them to the tree, ripping them from the tree. They both started towards Tazuna. Sakura noticed this and told him to get behind her, pulling out a kunai and preparing for the attack.

Suddenly, 2 tails emerged from behind the ninja, casting a gigantic shadow over the scene. Both ninja looked behind them, only to be caught by the tails, which were, guess who, Kurama's. With his tails, Kurama held both struggling ninja in front of him. Then all of a sudden, Susanoo appears right in front of them and leers at them both in the eyes, in which his were shining a bright bloody crimson. Both ninjas' eyes widened in surprise and then fell unconscious. Kurama dropped their bodies just as Kakashi jumped out of the trees.

"Wha? Kakashi-sensei?! B-but I thought you were-" Naruto says, snapping his head in the direction of where "Kakashi" died, only instead, there were chunks of wood. _'Substitution?!'_ he thought.

He looked at his teammates. Tazuna looked a bit nervous – odd – Sakura was fawning over Sasuke as usual, and Sasuke stood there, flaunting his power off with a smirk on his face.

"Hey," he says, looking at Naruto with a victorious smirk. "You're not hurt, are you, _Scaredy-cat_."

Naruto glares at him, gritting his teeth at the "Scaredy-cat" part.

"You know, I was gonna take care of those 2," Kakashi said, walking to the animals that stood over the ninjas' bodies.

"Yeah, but not much excitement comes in our lives anymore, so we thought, 'why not?'," Kurama says.

Kakashi nods in understanding and looks at Susanoo. "What was that jutsu you used?"

"It's called 'Tsukuyomi'," Susanoo answers. "It's one of the most powerful genjutsu in existence. Very, very, _very_ few people – those kind of people including all of you – could learn it through simple means. So in result, those guys may be in a comatose state for about...4-5 months and they may or may not have permanent mental trauma."

Everyone was completely silent after that explanation. And even though those 2 ninja have tried to kill them, admittedly, Team 7 kind of felt bad for the 2 that went through whatever torture Susanoo set up for them.

"Whoa," Naruto said after a painful 2 minutes of tense silence.

"Er, anyways, Tazuna-san?" Kakashi says, approaching the man. "These ninja are chūnin from Kirigakure no Sato. The reason for me not acting earlier is because I needed to make sure if it was us they were after, or you, the master bridge builder. When you put in your request, you said it was only to protect you from thugs and whatnot, not other shinobi. This mission standard is way out of a team of mere genin's league. We have to stop the mission and bring you back to Konoha right away so we can talk about this to Sandaime-sama."

"Please, Tazuna-san!" Sakura said. "We're not ready for this type of mission, and not only that but Naruto's bleeding as well. We should stop the mission or else he'll either bleed to death or die because the poison would've gotten throughout his circulatory system. We must get him proper medical treatment right away!"

Naruto looked at his wound and scowled. He didn't want to stop the mission, even more so because of him!

Kakashi sighed. "Alright. Looks like we have no choice. We have to stop the mission for Naruto's-"

He was interrupted when said Uzumaki plunged a kunai knife into his wound, further injuring him but successfully removing the poison also. Everyone was surprised when Naruto did that, though Kurama and Susanoo were unfazed. Sasuke, however, narrowed his eyes after widening them.

"I swear on the pain in my left hand, that I'll never ever back down and let my comrades defend themselves ever again! I promise!" he says heroically.

Kakashi puts on a light smile and approaches the boy. "Um, Naruto? Taking the poison out was very heroic and all, but if you lose anymore blood...you're gonna die."

Kakashi's humorous deadpanning and blunt phrase sent Naruto in a panic, making him flail around, waving his arms like an idiot.

"Naruto, calm down. Moving around to much will only make it worse," Kakashi says tiredly.

"Let me look at it," Kurama says, taking Naruto's left hand. He looked at it intently as the wound quickly healed itself. _'The Kyūbi's chakra gives him the ability to make his wounds heal rapidly. Well, at least it'll make my job much easier,'_ he thought.

"Er..." He looked up to see Naruto looking at him nervously. "Is my hand okay? You've been looking at it with such a serious face..."

"Is he gonna be alright?" Sakura asks.

"Don't worry. It's just that the wound is healing rapidly. It should be just as good as new tomorrow, is not in a couple of hours," Kurama reassures.

"Really? Cool! I'm so awesome!" Naruto says, fist pumping.

"Now, now. Calm down, even though it's healing super fast, I'm still gonna need to bandage it up." Kurama wrapped bandages around the wound, which was already halfway done healing. "There."

"Alright, let's go!"

They all proceeded to carry on. With Tazuna feeling very nervous under the copy ninja's intense gaze, Sakura fawning over Sasuke like he was a prize or something, and Naruto and Sasuke arguing – that is if Naruto's incessant babbling and Sasuke's one-syllable responses counted as an argument.

Kurama and Susanoo kept a close yet unnoticeable eye on the trees around them, completely aware of their being followed. Meanwhile, hidden in the bushes, stood a large figure with a very large sword watching the genin team as they walked off. The figure kept an especially close eye on Kurama and Susanoo...

* * *

**In That Cave That I Told You About...**

Right now, the Numbered Team just finished organizing the teams. The first team was Nine, One, and Two...

"-WHY YOU MOTHERFUCKING ASSHOLE!"

"YOU LITTLE COCKSUCKING PUSSY!"

"Now, now you 2. Let's try to be civil at least."

"SHUT IT!"

"Oh, not again..."

….the second team was made up of Three, Six, and Four – Four unfortunately got stuck to being the pretend female...

"Why the hell do I have to wear this fucking dress?!"

"Well, at least now I can actually prove that I'm a lot more manly than you...pussy."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"Er... Guys, can we please not-"

"WANNA TRY SAYING TO MY FACE, ASSHOLE?!"

"It seems that I'm also much better at insulting other too."

"WHY YOU-!"

….and the last team was made up of Eight, Five, and Seven...

"Why can't you at least TRY to be serious for once?!"

"Why can't _you_ at least TRY to be _not a stuck-up asshole_ for once?!"

"Listen, you woman-child! How about you just get on your little tricycle or whatever, go cry to your mommy that you got OWNED by Eight, and leave this business to the grown-ups, m'kay?"

"I'LL CRUSH YOUR BALLS SO BADLY, THAT EVEN YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GREAT _GRANDFATHER_ WOULD FEEL IT IN TEH AFTERLIFE!"

"Geez..."

….Pretty messed up, huh? For some reason, the teams were made so at least 2 members of said teams fought all the time. Wonder why that happened...

* * *

**Back to the Equally Messed Up Team 7...**

"Did you guys hear that?!" Naruto shouted suddenly.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"I just heard someone say something. And they just said that we were messed up!" he said angrily. Haha! They'll never find out it was me!

"It's probably just your imagination," Susanoo reassured. "...Besides, you guy _are_ messed up anyways."

"Hey!" Naruto and Sakura said while Sasuke just glared at him. Kakashi chuckled, saying, "Now, now guys. Let's go and take Tazuna-san to his home, so he can explain this to us."

Tazuna got even more nervous, suddenly wanting to not arrive at his home...

* * *

**A While Later...**

After Tazuna got Kakashi to continue the mission by blackmailing them with pity – something in which Kurama and Susanoo respected a lot – they were walking along the outer parts of the Lands of Waves, with Kurama and Susanoo being fully aware of the strange figure with a large sword following them.

"Hey guys," Kurama says, getting everyone's attention, "we just detected some more enemies of ours. Well take care of them with no problem."

"Wait for us," Susanoo added before they both flew/dashed into the bushes/trees. Once there, they faced off the large man with the gigantic sword.

Susanoo narrowed his eyes and said-

End

S/N: _I'm such a massive troll! x) do you guys think that the large man with the sword is Zabuza, or someone else? Anyways, I hope enjoyed the slight fourth wall breaking. I love breaking the fourth wall. It's so much fun to do and hilarious to watch. :) Also, it might take a bit of referencing of the chapter in which the Numbered Team was introduced to get who was saying what, but you guys will get it! :D_

_DON'T FORGET ZE REVIEWZZZZ!_

_Ta-ta~_

_-Serena_


	6. Chapter 6: Encounter

S/N: _I know, I know, I'm a TERRIBLE person! I neglected this story without even a good reason as to why, I'm sorry! But nevertheless, here is the 6__th__ chapter. By the way, here's something important. __**THIS IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!**__ As you all know, I am currently thinking of revealing the animal's identities during the Chūnin Exams, at the exact same time in which the Numbered Team's identities will be revealed. But to be honest, I'm now thinking of revealing the animals' identities later, MUCH later in the story, to keep its purpose. Btu I honestly don't know. So I put up __**POLL**__ in which I need you all to vote on. Going back to the new chapter, enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Masashi Kishimoto(or as I like to call him 'The Best Troll Ever') owns everything! I only own the plot! PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!**

Chapter 6: Encounter

**In That Cave That I Told You About Though You Must be Angry at Me For Not Answering That Cliffhanger Right Away...**

"Now that we all have the teams figured out," Two said, slightly glaring at the previously fighting and now injured members of the Numbered Team in front of her. Two, Three, and Five combined all their signature jutsus to stop the fighting. It worked quite well actually, much to the chagrin of Nine, One, Six, Four, Eight, and Seven. "We just need to create a couple human forms that aren't suspicious but still recognizable."

"One, why don't you start?" Five said.

One grumbled and did what he was requested. He turned into a male with spiky, sandy-brown hair with black highlights and black sclerae on his eyes, containing yellow irides with pupils that each takes the shape of a black four-pointed star with four black dots around it. One has on a sleeveless, high-collared, beige shirt with a brown zipper running down the middle. He has matching pants with a black hitai-ate around his waist like a belt. He has light beige arm warmers with dark brown borders, black markings similar to the ones all over his original body, and they go up to his underarms. He wears regular black shinobi sandals and a beige hitai-ate with the kanji for "One" on the metal plate. He wears a necklace and bracelet with the kanji for "One" in sandy-brown.

"Good, let's go down the line. I'll go next," Two said, turning into a human female with waist-length, curly blue hair with black highlights, which is in 2 loose ponytails. She has pupiless eyes that are yellow in the right eye and green in the left, and fiery blue nails. For her clothes, she wears wears a top that's dark blue around her breasts and white with the rest. Right in the middle of the white part of her shirt is an aqua green sash. She wears a dark blue apron skirt with an aqua green border and a large aqua green bow on the back. She wears black gloves that go up to mid-bicep, where her headband with the kanji for "Two" is on it. Underneath her skirt are black short shorts and black shinobi boots with an aqua green seam. Like One, she has a necklace and bracelet with the kanji for "Two" in navy blue.

"Three?" Two said. Three timidly turned into a younger human male with short, slightly spiky silver hair with red highlights and red eyes with black sclera. He wears a regular brown t-shirt with a single black strip on the right side over a long-sleeved fishnet shirt. He has on dark brown pants and a dark brown and green scarf around his neck. He wears regular black shinobi sandals, black gloves, and has his hitai-ate with the kanji for "Three" on his left bicep. Like the others, he has a necklace and bracelet with the kanji for "Three" in sea-foam green.

Four immediately transformed next, turning into a male with spiky red hair and yellow irides with white pupils. He wears a black high-collared, short-sleeved, open shirt with a red border. Underneath is a black t-shirt with a red border that shows off his midriff. Under that shirt is a long-sleeved fishnet t-shirt. He wears simple black pants with a red seam and red shinobi sandals. He wears a red fabric hitai-ate with the kanji for "Four" on it. Like the others, he had a necklace and bracelet with the kanji for "Four" in crimson red.

Next was Five, who is now a male with short, white hair with a light blue tint and dark blue-green eyes with red markings under them. For clothes, Five sports a fishnet top that shows off his midriff and purple pants. Over the fishnet shirt is a waist-length white coat with light blue triangles on the seam of the sleeves and on the end of the coat. He has bandages on his forearms and has on regular black shinobi sandals. On his forehead is a hitai-ate with the kanji for "Five" on. Like the rest, he has a necklace and bracelet with the kanji for "Five" in light blue.

Then, Six transformed, him now being a male with grayish-blue eyes and light blue shoulder-length hair with part of it covering the right side of his face. For clothes, Six has on a light blue sleeveless shirt and indigo pants. Over it, is a knee-length blue coat with a white border and collar. The coat's sleeves cover up until his elbows, with the rest being covered by fishnet. Right below the white collar is a white belt that closes up the coat. On his forehead is a hitai-ate with the kanji for "Six" on it. He wears regular shinobi sandals and the standard necklace and bracelet with the kanji for "Six" in white.

Up next was Seven, who was giddy to transform into a young female with waist-length hair – which is down with a mini high ponytail at the top – with lemon-yellow roots and light orange ends. She has green eyes and blue-gray nails. For her clothes, she wears a dark green tube top with a dark red sash right below her breastbone. Over the tube top is a black open, sleeveless vest that stops right above the breastbone. She wears fingerless gloves that cover up until mid-bicep. She wears a black skirt that opens up in the middle of both thighs with dark greens short shorts underneath. She has on black leggings that stop right under her shorts and black heeled shinobi sandals. She wears a dark red sash as a belt that hangs down the right side of her leg. She wears a hitai-ate with the kanji for "Seven" on it in the same way Sakura wears hers. Like the others, she wears a necklace and bracelet with the kanji for "Seven" in light orange.

Eight, who was rather impatient for some reason, turned into a male with short, smooth, brownish red hair and pure white eyes – something that will probably freak many people out. For clothes, Eight has on a dark red, skin-tight, long-sleeved shirt with bandages underneath. Over the shirt is a silver vest similar to Kumogakure's jōnin vests. He wears matching pants with a red scarf wrapped around his waist and brown straps on his right knee. He wears dark gray fingerless gloves, dark red shinobi sandals, and has his "Eight" hitai-ate on his right wrist. Like the other bijū, he has a necklace and bracelet with the kanji for "Eight" in dark red.

Nine was last, and turned into a male with short, spiky, beast-like red-orange hair and red eyes with slit pupils. He wears a brown t-shirt with beige pants and regular black shinobi sandals. Over the brown t-shirt is a collarless, baggy, blood red coat that goes to Nine's thighs. He wears a brown scarf that's the same length of his coat. He wore his hitai-ate with the kanji for "Nine" on his waist like a belt. Like all the others, he has a necklace and bracelet with the kanji for "Nine" in orange.

"Okay," Nine said, taking over the leadership again, "now that we've got our human forms made, we need to find a way to turn you-know-who back and bring them back to you-know-where."

"Great idea," One said sarcastically. "Only one problem, how the hell are we gonna do that?!"

Nine merely chuckled at his rival. "Oh, One. Haven't you learned by now? We're shinobi, we can do _anything_..."

At the end of that day, One definitely didn't want to get anywhere near that psychopath, not that he wasn't one himself...

* * *

**Back at the Cliffhanger So You People Won't Kill Me For Pulling a Kishi on You Guys...**

_Once there, they faced off the large man with the gigantic sword._

_Susanoo narrowed his eyes and said-_

…

"-Kisame..."

The large cloud blocking the sun blew away, revealing the shark man's blue, beast-like face, which was grinning evilly.

Kurama growled. "Mind telling us what you're doing here?" he asked sarcastically.

Kisame merely chuckled. "Now why would I tell you that?" he said in a teasing tone.

Now it was Susanoo's turn to growl. "Are you here just to make small talk with us, or is it to stop us from ruining your plans to change the future?"

Kisame's eyes narrowed slightly, but returned to normal shortly after. "How about we stop beating around the bush and cut right to the fight? I'm sure you've been expecting this, haven't you?" he chuckled, taking out his sword.

Kurama automatically went into analytical mode and tried to refresh his memory of the swordman. _'If my memory's correct,'_ Kurama thought, _'then his fighting style remains with his sword, which can absorb chakra and transfer it to him. That will be quite difficult to deal with. But his strengths lie in ninjutsu. If we use taijutsu, we may have a chance to defeat him without drawing too much unwanted attention. Though, if we use a multitude of ninjutsu, we may be able to stall him quick enough to hatch an escape plan and get back to Team 7.'_

Kurama's tail split into 9 separate tails, all going into a prepared fighting pose. He quickly whispered his plan to Susanoo, who nodded in understanding. Said bird spread his wings and prepared to take off.

Kurama gathered air in his mouth and combined it with wind-natured chakra, blowing it all out to the ground, effectively clouding the area with dust. "Fūton: Shinkūha!" Kurama said while the dust covered him and Susanoo from Kisame's view.

Kisame merely chuckled. "Ha! Do you really think a tactic like this is gonna work against me?" he mocked. "I know every single one of your tricks. You can't fool me, so just give them up!"

The sharp clang of metal against metal resounded throughout the forest as Susanoo's sword's blade – which he got through a storage seal from Kurama – met Samehada's hard "scales". The bird's crimson eyes narrowed as he engaged in a heated kenjutsu battle with the swordsman.

Suddenly, a blue glow came from behind the both of them. Both respective ninja turned to kind Kurama knelt down, with his tails' ends around his mouth and a swirling sphere of chakra in his jaws. Susanoo's eyes widened and he quickly retreated, out of the dangerous jutsu's range.

"Rasengan!" Kurama cried and he charged forward with the Rasengan aimed towards Kisame's chest. The blue-skinned swordsman only grinned and blocked the attack with his Samehada, absorbing the chakra.

An explosion went off due to the Rasengan, which Kurama avoided by jumping back to where Susanoo was in the trees.

"What are you doing?" Susanoo accused Kurama once he landed.

"What are you talking about?" Kurama replied, confused.

"I mean, why are you using techniques such as Rasengan? I thought we agreed to only stall the Akatsuki members if we come across some while looking after Naruto and Sasuke."

"Exactly. That's what I'm doing; stalling. Since Samehada sucks up chakra faster than Naruto inhales ramen, what better way to stall him?"

"Wouldn't that be kind of a waste of our chakra? Especially if our chakra reserves are reduced halfway in this form."

"So? Even if we don't have nearly as much chakra as we normally do, we still have a ton of chakra! So we'll be fine as long as we aren't too careless."

Just then, a large jet of water headed towards the 2 of them. Susanoo used his claws to grab onto Kurama's back and fled to the other direction. The area in which they left now had a little lake, where Kisame slowly rose up from.

"There's no use in hiding. Samehada can practically taste your chakras from here," he called out.

Susanoo perched on a nearby tree and put Kurama down on an adjacent branch. "Fine, we'll go with your plan. But if anything, and I mean _**anything**_ goes wrong, I'm leaving you to deal with BOTH Naruto and Sasuke!"

"What?! You can't do that!"

"Yes I can! Now shut up and attack already!"

Kurama groaned and got out one of his special kunai. He gripped it in his jaws and narrowed his eyes at Kisame, who stared right back. The fox craned his neck then whipped his head forward, sending the kunai straight at Kisame.

Said shark-man only laughed as he dodged the weapon. "You think that using pathetic attack like that will phase me? Ha! Think again!" He laughed mockingly at the duo until his eyes caught the famous marking of the famed Yellow Flash.

In a very fitting golden flash, Kurama appeared behind Kisame, sending his tails towards the swordsman. Barely, just barely, Kisame managed to block the sharpened tails with his Samehada. They soon engaged in a short kenjutsu battle.

Susanoo shushined on the other side of Kisame with sword in hand. He tried to strike the shark-man from behind but was blocked by Samehada, who also had to fight off Kurama's tails.

"There's no escape, Kisame!" Kurama shouted as he prepared himself for a Rasengan.

Suddenly, the loud roaring of water caught their attention and all turned to the right, seeing a gigantic wave of water rushing towards them.

"Shit!" Kurama said as he jumped out of the way. Susanoo flew back and into the sky, avoiding the water. Kisame only grinned and braced himself, as he was already part shark.

Once the water calmed down, leaving the entire area drowned with up-to-knee-length water, Kurama stood on the water's surface, searching for Kisame. Susanoo hovered over the new lake next to Kurama, also searching for the swordsman.

"Well, that's my sue to go." His voice caught their attention and they saw a glimpse of his grinning face before he shushined away.

"Come on, let's go. Kakashi and Team 7 must have taken care of Zabuza by now," Kurama said.

"Right. Haku must have arrived already. Let's move," Susanoo responded before flying off with Kurama dashing on the water's surface.

* * *

**With Team 7 and Tazuna...**

In a swirling mass of leaves, the masked ninja disappeared along with Zabuza's body, leaving Team 7 in shock, Kakashi unconscious, and Zabuza slightly panicked. The sound of footsteps quickly running towards them caught their attention as they turned to see Kurama emerging from the forest with Susanoo overhead.

"Is everyone alright?" Kurama asked immediately.

"Yeah, everyone except Kakashi-sensei because you guys left us there to fend off the crazed masked guy with a gigantic sword! What were you doing anyways?!" Naruto accused loudly.

"We were fighting off an opponent much more dangerous than the likes of Zabuza. If we didn't fight him, then you'd all be dead by now," Susanoo explained.

"Oh," Naruto said simply. "Well, what do we do about Kakashi-sensei?!"

"Let's take him to somewhere so he could rest." Sakura suggested. "Tazuna-san? Is your house nearby here?"

"Should be. Not very far from here if we hurry," he replied.

"I'll carry Kakashi," Kurama said, walking over to the copy-nin's body.

"Uh... Are you sure he's not dead?" Susanoo said, pecking Kakashi's face.

Said silver-haired man groaned, mumbling, "Oh, Icha-Icha... of course I'll marry you..."

"...Never mind," Kurama said, sweatdropping with Susanoo.

"Let's just go," Susanoo said, helping to hoist up Kakashi onto Kurama's back.

They all left, unaware of the danger coming along for them...

End

S/N: _Finally! I have this done. Sorry for the long wait, but at least it's done! Next chapter will feature Team 7's training and Kurama and Susanoo messing with them while they're training. x) Don't forget to _**_VOTE_**_ in the _**_POLL_**_ on my profile to decide whether or not, I reveal the animals' identities during the Chūnin Exams or later._

_DON'T FORGET ZE UPDATEZZZZ!_

_Ta-ta~_

_-Serena_


End file.
